Published: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 6:02 p.m.

An immigration detainee sits with Lade Gaga, a dog that is part of the Puppies Without Borders program, Tuesday at the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden.

Marc Golden | Gadsden TImes

Some detainees were using the phones hanging on a wall in a unit at the Etowah County Detention Center, others were working out in the exercise yard. Cell doors were unlocked and detainees appeared to be moving freely about the unit.

But most eyes were on the members of the media touring the areas where detainees for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are housed.

It's not uncommon for advocacy groups to work with detainees to file complaints and grievances about the treatment at the jail. Detainees have learned to reach out to those groups.

A rule of the federal agency requires that interviews with detainees must be set up in advance and conducted separately. Random interviews are not allowed, but that did not seem to deter the detainees who wanted to talk about treatment at the detention center.

In a 13-page letter from a detainee, he explained, “I am prepared,” as he handed the letter to a reporter on the tour.

In the letter he said he is being detained in a “modern-day concentration camp.”

But with such strict federal guidelines in place, that description is a misrepresentation, said Natalie Barton, public information officer for the Etowah County Detention Center.

The detainee said he is trying to convey “the trauma, devastation, humiliation and overall inhuman treatment” that he and other immigrants “endure” in immigration detention centers.

The detainee said he has been away from his family for four years and has no criminal record. However, all detainees are being held because they are in the United States illegally.

He said the conditions at the Etowah County Detention Center are “harsh and unlivable.”

However, during the recent tour, the facility was clean and most detainees appeared healthy, well fed, in good spirits and in good physical condition.

The detainee complained the detention center is not in compliance with federal guidelines because there is no outdoor exercise yard. However, each unit has a small area that is outdoors where the detainees were playing basketball, boxing and exercising.

The Etowah County Detention Center has met the 2000 federal guidelines, but under terms of a proposed agreement with ICE to house detainees, officials are negotiating a new daily rate with ICE. Under the terms of that agreement, an outdoor recreation facility that meets the 2011 federal detention standards will be built, Barton said.

On average there are 325 ICE detainees in the Etowah County Detention Center, which has an overall capacity of 879 that includes state and local inmates.

A few of the detainees recently were caught crossing the border illegally and a few others are being held while officials determine if they are eligible to seek asylum in the United States. However, almost all the ICE detainees held at the Etowah County Detention Center are convicted criminals, with crimes ranging from DUI to homicide.

The detainees are awaiting deportation, a process which by law must occur in less than a year. The detainees held in Etowah County are housed for the New Orleans field office for ICE, after each detainee has gone through the criminal process in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed and through ICE court proceedings.

The average detainee held in Etowah County stays 98 days. Those detainees who are held longer than 270 days have failed to comply and sign the documentation that allows them to travel to their country, Philip Miller, field office director in New Orleans for ICE, said.

Miller said detainees are not automatically removed from the country. “The folks that have been here longer hold the key to their own freedom,” he said.

The detainees are from all over the world, Miller said, with a majority from the various Caribbean islands.

To house detainees for ICE, the sheriff's office must meet strict federal guidelines for things such as diets, medical treatment, religious accommodations and exercise.

It's not uncommon for the detainees to complain, Miller said. In each housing unit, there are three separate locked boxes for detainees to be able to fill out complaints about ICE, the detention center or make medical requests.

The biggest complaint is about the quantity and lack of choice of the food, Miller said.

“If you want tacos tonight and you can't have tacos, you're going to complain,” he said.

The amount and types of food served are regulated and menus must be approved by a dietician for between 2,200- and 2,800-calorie diets with the exception of diabetic diets, which are 1,800 calories. They also prepare medical special needs diets.

Many of the detainees, for religious beliefs, require kosher and halal diets.

Menus are planned at least five weeks in advance.

A rabbi and imam consult with ICE to make sure religious meals and observances are provided.

Recently the imam from the local Muslim community brought prayer rugs for detainees who chose to use them, Miller said.

“We try to accommodate them,” he said. “They face east to face Mecca and have a specified time to pray.”

The detention center allows detainees to follow most religious rituals.

The federal government regulates how detainees are held, Miller said, and to maintain a contract with ICE, the center must meet the federal standards.

No deficiencies were found during an annual inspection in July, Barton said.

The agreement between ICE and the Etowah County Sheriff's Office began in January 1997.

Miller said agencies across the country have similar agreements with ICE. In Alabama, they include the Montgomery Police Department and the sheriff's offices in Baldwin and DeKalb counties.

<p>One flatscreen television was tuned in to ESPN. Another was tuned to CNN.</p><p>Some detainees were using the phones hanging on a wall in a unit at the Etowah County Detention Center, others were working out in the exercise yard. Cell doors were unlocked and detainees appeared to be moving freely about the unit.</p><p>But most eyes were on the members of the media touring the areas where detainees for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are housed.</p><p>It's not uncommon for advocacy groups to work with detainees to file complaints and grievances about the treatment at the jail. Detainees have learned to reach out to those groups.</p><p>A rule of the federal agency requires that interviews with detainees must be set up in advance and conducted separately. Random interviews are not allowed, but that did not seem to deter the detainees who wanted to talk about treatment at the detention center.</p><p>In a 13-page letter from a detainee, he explained, “I am prepared,” as he handed the letter to a reporter on the tour.</p><p>In the letter he said he is being detained in a “modern-day concentration camp.”</p><p>But with such strict federal guidelines in place, that description is a misrepresentation, said Natalie Barton, public information officer for the Etowah County Detention Center.</p><p>The detainee said he is trying to convey “the trauma, devastation, humiliation and overall inhuman treatment” that he and other immigrants “endure” in immigration detention centers.</p><p>The detainee said he has been away from his family for four years and has no criminal record. However, all detainees are being held because they are in the United States illegally.</p><p>He said the conditions at the Etowah County Detention Center are “harsh and unlivable.”</p><p>However, during the recent tour, the facility was clean and most detainees appeared healthy, well fed, in good spirits and in good physical condition.</p><p>The detainee complained the detention center is not in compliance with federal guidelines because there is no outdoor exercise yard. However, each unit has a small area that is outdoors where the detainees were playing basketball, boxing and exercising.</p><p>The Etowah County Detention Center has met the 2000 federal guidelines, but under terms of a proposed agreement with ICE to house detainees, officials are negotiating a new daily rate with ICE. Under the terms of that agreement, an outdoor recreation facility that meets the 2011 federal detention standards will be built, Barton said.</p><p>On average there are 325 ICE detainees in the Etowah County Detention Center, which has an overall capacity of 879 that includes state and local inmates.</p><p>A few of the detainees recently were caught crossing the border illegally and a few others are being held while officials determine if they are eligible to seek asylum in the United States. However, almost all the ICE detainees held at the Etowah County Detention Center are convicted criminals, with crimes ranging from DUI to homicide.</p><p>The detainees are awaiting deportation, a process which by law must occur in less than a year. The detainees held in Etowah County are housed for the New Orleans field office for ICE, after each detainee has gone through the criminal process in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed and through ICE court proceedings.</p><p>The average detainee held in Etowah County stays 98 days. Those detainees who are held longer than 270 days have failed to comply and sign the documentation that allows them to travel to their country, Philip Miller, field office director in New Orleans for ICE, said.</p><p>Miller said detainees are not automatically removed from the country. “The folks that have been here longer hold the key to their own freedom,” he said.</p><p>The detainees are from all over the world, Miller said, with a majority from the various Caribbean islands.</p><p>To house detainees for ICE, the sheriff's office must meet strict federal guidelines for things such as diets, medical treatment, religious accommodations and exercise.</p><p>It's not uncommon for the detainees to complain, Miller said. In each housing unit, there are three separate locked boxes for detainees to be able to fill out complaints about ICE, the detention center or make medical requests. </p><p>The biggest complaint is about the quantity and lack of choice of the food, Miller said.</p><p>“If you want tacos tonight and you can't have tacos, you're going to complain,” he said.</p><p>The amount and types of food served are regulated and menus must be approved by a dietician for between 2,200- and 2,800-calorie diets with the exception of diabetic diets, which are 1,800 calories. They also prepare medical special needs diets.</p><p>Many of the detainees, for religious beliefs, require kosher and halal diets.</p><p>Menus are planned at least five weeks in advance.</p><p>A rabbi and imam consult with ICE to make sure religious meals and observances are provided.</p><p>Recently the imam from the local Muslim community brought prayer rugs for detainees who chose to use them, Miller said.</p><p>“We try to accommodate them,” he said. “They face east to face Mecca and have a specified time to pray.” </p><p>The detention center allows detainees to follow most religious rituals.</p><p>The federal government regulates how detainees are held, Miller said, and to maintain a contract with ICE, the center must meet the federal standards.</p><p>No deficiencies were found during an annual inspection in July, Barton said.</p><p>The agreement between ICE and the Etowah County Sheriff's Office began in January 1997.</p><p>Miller said agencies across the country have similar agreements with ICE. In Alabama, they include the Montgomery Police Department and the sheriff's offices in Baldwin and DeKalb counties.</p>